Hudson Valley Home Prices Continue to Soar: 'Difficult Challenges'

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — Home prices in the region continue to rise while inventory levels continue to drop, according to the new report by the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors.

"The Putnam County market has been suffering the same fate as the other counties in our area — Namely, low housing supply and high interest rates," Aaron Velez, HGAR's Regional Director Putnam County, told Patch. "These are very difficult challenges for homebuyers to navigate."

February’s single-family home sales were down in every county except Westchester and Orange, HGAR reported. Meanwhile, residential real estate prices continued to escalate throughout the New York City Metropolitan region. Westchester, Rockland and Sullivan counties price hikes saw of more than 14 percent over last February, according to the report.

There continue to be fewer and fewer single-family houses on the market. Inventory shrank across the region, with the Bronx, Orange and Putnam counties seeing the greatest declines — more than 30 percent.

"I think a lot of people may still be waiting to see how low the rates will go before deciding to commit to place their homes on the market," said HGAR President Carmen Bauman.

However, while co-op sales also dropped, condominium sales rose, according to the report.

"New condo listings have seen an uptick and are good alternatives to single family homes. They allow for ownership of property for typically much less cost than that of single-family homes," Velez pointed out. " Available condos in Putnam are up 38.5 percent and should be looked at as a serious option for buyers looking to purchase."

There are ways to succeed and the guidance of a professional real estate agent will go a long way, he said.

"Ultimately though, without available property to sell, the price of existing homes sales will continue to rise as is indicated by the 4.2 percent increase in single family home prices in Putnam in February while the number of total home sales decreased by 7.7 percent," Velez said. "Ultimately, we need those mortgage interest rates to come down! That should loosen the inventory up."

HGAR's February report was based on data supplied by OneKey®MLS.